About the Off-Season: Time for a Weathers Report

About the Off-Season: Time for a Weathers Report

By Tim Kabel

January 14, 2026

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Yesterday, the Yankees finally made a major move. They acquired someone who is not a teenager from the Netherlands. He is also not a journeyman who won a batting championship in El Salvador. He is also not someone who has been released multiple times. This was not a scrapheap acquisition. They added the son of one of their former players to the roster. No, it wasn't Cody Bellinger. It was Ryan Weathers, son of David Weathers.

By the way, Ryan and David will be the fifth father-son combo to play for the Yankees in their history. They will join Clay and Cody Bellinger, Mark and Mark, Jr. Leiter, Ron and Ike Davis, and Yogi and Dale Berra. You can regale your friends with that morsel at your next dinner party.

The Yankees traded four prospects to the Marlins for Weathers. They are outfielder Brendan Jones, the #15 prospect in the Yankee system, outfielder Dillon Lewis, the #16 prospect, infielder Dylan Jasso, the # 23 prospect and Juan Matheus, who was not ranked. I'm not sure if this was the first time a team ever traded two players named Dylan in the same deal (although Lewis and Jasso each spell their first names differently). The late James Arness would be nervous if he were still around.

Weathers is 26 years old, left-handed, and has pitched as both a starter and a reliever. He projects to be a starter with the Yankees. Last year, he was limited to 8 starts due to multiple injuries. He has never logged more than 94 2/3 innings in a season since debuting with the Padres in 2021.

There was speculation that the Yankees would be trading for Freddy Peralta on the Brewers. Obviously, Peralta is a far superior pitcher to Weathers at this stage of their respective careers. However, Peralta is set to be a free agent after the 2026 season. The Yankees have three years of control with Weathers, and he will only earn $1.35 million next season. I'm sure that was a big factor in the Yankees’ reasoning for acquiring him. I would assume that this trade means the Yankees are now out on Peralta and MacKenzie Gore. Tipper Gore remains a possibility.

Let's look at this trade for a minute. Weathers is young and I'm sure the Yankees feel he is very talented. They did give up a lot for a pitcher who hasn't pitched very much. I suspect there are a few things in play here. First, I think the Yankees believe that Matt Blake and his minions can help Weathers to reach his full potential and blossom as a Yankee. Second, I believe there will be another move.

Now that the Yankees have woken up, they are being linked to several players. Kyle Tucker is not one of them. Nor do I think he should be. Unless Cody Bellinger and Scott Boras are willing to abandon their desire for a longer and more lucrative contract than the one the Yankees are offering, I don't think Bellinger will be back. The Yankees are reportedly still in on Bo Bichette. They have also been linked to Brendan Donovan and Nico Hoerner.

However, the Yankees just sent 3 of their top 25 prospects to the Marlins for Weathers. They may not be able to weather the storm if they give away many more of their top prospects. 

Perhaps the Yankees will trade Luis Gil or Will Warren and use Ryan Yarbrough as the fifth starter until Carlos Rodon and/or Gerrit Cole return from the IL. The Yankees could sign Bo Bichette and move him to either second or third and then trade either Jazz Chisholm, Jr., or Ryan McMahon. There are a lot of ways the Yankees could go.

The important thing is that the Yankees have entered the pool. They did more than dip their toes in the water this time. They actually took the plunge and made a deal for a pitcher who could conceivably be a part of their starting rotation for at least the next three years. It will be very interesting to see what the next move is. But at least there has been a break in the weather.